


Sustainable Farming

by SmolBean9



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Neko America, Neko Russia, Nekotalia, No Angst, Romance, Rusame Secret Santa 2019, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:15:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22022422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmolBean9/pseuds/SmolBean9
Summary: Alfred and Ivan are both farmers who meet at an international convention for sustainable farming. They connect and decide to start a long distance relationship, falling in love along the way.
Relationships: America/Russia (Hetalia)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 45





	Sustainable Farming

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wandschrankheld](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Wandschrankheld).



> This is my Rusame secret santa gift for @wandschrankheld on tumblr. I hope you like it!

Alfred hummed and absentmindedly fidgeted with the end of his sleeve as he listened to the speaker. He was at a week long convention for sustainable and energy efficient farming, trying to learn better ways to grow his crops. It was an international convention, and farmers from around the world flew to New York for this. Even though many of the speakers talked about things that held no relevance to him, Alfred was still thoroughly enjoying the event, especially the people. 

It had only been two days, and he had already met so many interesting people from around the world. He spoke with a cheery tomato farmer from Spain about the best ways to irrigate crops, and spoke with someone from China who worked mainly with rice about which crops could be easily distributed and manufactured into other goods. Alfred had even formed a quick friendship with an odd German wheat farmer named Gilbert. They had gone out for drinks together the past few nights, and bonded quickly over beer, specifically how quickly the other could down a bottle of it. 

The convention was thoroughly enjoyable, with multiple speakers, and legitimately good information on how to grow crops more efficiently. Currently, he was standing off to the side as he read through a brochure on energy efficient farm equipment. 

“Excuse me, do you know where the speaker hall is?” He felt a tentative tap on his shoulder as someone came behind him. When Alfred turned to face the person who tapped him on the shoulder, his heart rate picked up a bit. 

This man was hot, yet absolutely adorable at the same time. His platinum blonde hair hung just above his soft violet eyes, and his nose was almost too large for his face. The stranger buried his face further into his scarf, and his long blonde eyelashes fluttered against his flushed cheeks. Alfred felt warmth spread over his cheeks, and he grinned, trying to hide the blush worked its way across his face. 

“Yeah, of course dude! I can walk you to it, if you want,” 

“Da, that would be very helpful, thank you!” The other man replied. His voice was high and smooth, like bells ringing. He also had a heavy Russian accent, which Alfred found rather endearing. He shoved the pamphlet he had been reading into his pocket, and began to walk with the stranger towards the speaker hall. 

“So, what’s your name, and where are you from?” He asked after a few steps, turning to look to the other man. 

“Oh, my name is Ivan, and I farm potatoes in Rasteniye. It is a small village outside of Moscow,” He paused for a moment, and readjusted his scarf. “Where are you from?” 

“Iowa. I farm the best corn on this side of the Mississippi,” Alfred beamed up at Ivan. They conversed casually about their hometowns and farms, until they reached the speaker hall. 

“Well, here it is!” Alfred grinned, stopping in front of the hall. 

“Ah, thank you for showing me where it is!” Ivan smiled softly. 

“No problem man! I was headed here to anyways so…” Alfred had not actually been headed there anyways, but he wanted to spend maybe a little more time with the adorable Russian. And so, Alfred made an effort to stay with Ivan. Luckily, the other seemed to enjoy his company and they chatted together about their farms, and what the different speakers presented. 

In fact, the rest of the convention, Alfred spent as much time with Ivan as possible. They had some legitimately good and useful conversations about farming, and how they personally tried to make it more energy efficient, but for the most part they goofed around and talked about trivial things. When Alfred spoke about and showed pictures of his cat, he learned that Ivan also had a cat. For over an hour they bonded over their cats, exchanging pictures and telling stories, and overall enjoying the other's company.

* * *

When the last day of the convention arrived, Alfred faced it with grudging disappointment. He would miss swapping stories and messing around with Ivan. He spent the entire day going to see different speakers with Ivan, enjoying the company of the Russian. As the end of the day came, Alfred sighed in disappointment, turning to Ivan to say goodbye. 

“Well, I should probably get back to my hotel room to pack up for the trip home,” Ivan nodded, and opened his mouth as if to say something, before closing it. He grabbed some scrap paper and a pen from his pocket, before scrawling something on the paper and offering it to Alfred. 

“It is the end of the convention, da? Here is my phone number. We should keep in touch,” He said with a small smile. 

Alfred grinned, accepting the paper. “For sure, dude!” He gave a small wave goodbye to Ivan before crossing the street on his way to the hotel room. 

As soon as he got back to his hotel room, Alfred let out a high squeal and flopped onto the bed. Ivan had given him his number? That adorable, sweet, bear of a man had given  _ Alfred _ his number? He smiled, and wasting no time, put Ivan’s number into his contacts.Alfred stared at the number on the screen, debating on whether or not it was too soon to text him. After maybe two seconds of contemplation, he began to type out a message.

**To Ivan♡:**

Hey! Its Alfred from the sustainable farming convention :)

**Sent 16:48**

Upon sending the message, Alfred bit his lip nervously. His nerves only increased upon receiving no response. He groaned and tossed his phone across the bed. It was fine Ivan wasn’t responding right away, he probably didn’t have his phone with him, or had yet to check it. When his phone lit up and buzzed from across the bed, Alfred eagerly reached over to grab it, looking at the message he had received.

**From Ivan♡:**

Hello Alfred ^J^ 

**Received 16:53**

Alfred smiled at the simple, cute, message, and quickly began to type out a reply.

* * *

Soon, they had been messaging each other back and forth just about every day, despite the time difference. Alfred and Ivan grew close over text, talking to each other almost every day through texting, calling, or video chats. They had started a long distance relationship, and Alfred often times laughed at what his family would think if they knew he was dating a man who lived halfway across the world. 

They had been dating for about a year, and Alfred had made a trip to Russia to visit Ivan earlier in the year. This was the happiest he had felt since adopting his cat, Burger, to keep him company. Unfortunately, due to the eight hour time difference, he could only speak with Ivan early in the morning and late at night. So, Alfred made the most of every second he could chat with Ivan.It was currently late at night, and Alfred had just finished his work for the day. He walked into the living room, looking to relax some before making dinner. 

Suddenly, his phone buzzed and Alfred grinned, noticing that he had received a text from Ivan. He swiped open his phone, looking at the message. It was a blurry photo of Ivan’s cat standing over a grey ball of fluff, the caption under it reading:  _ Kartoshka will not stop bringing mice into the house!  _ Alfred typed out a quick reply, and looked over to his own cat. 

“At least Ivan’s cat can kill things. All you do is beg for more treats, huh?” His cat, Burger, turned to face her owner, accidentally rolling off the windowsill as she did so. She let out a loud wheezing noise as she hit the ground, before pulling herself to her feet and mewling loudly. Alfred smiled fondly, getting up to walk to the kitchen. 

“I guess it is time for your dinner, lil buddy,” As he walked, Burger vocalized her hunger, meowing loudly whilst weaving in between Alfred’s legs. Once the small blue food bowl was full, she gave a meow of thanks, before ravenously crunching at the cat food. Alfred hummed and leaned up against the counter, texting Ivan. 

**To Ivan♡:**

Winter’s comin soon, its already snowed here. How cold is it over there? :p

**Sent 20:24**

**From Ivan♡:**

It is very cold. Soon Kartoshka will have to stay inside all the time, as much as she does not like it. I do not want her to freeze in the snow ^J^

**Received 20:24**

**From Ivan♡:**

How is Burger doing?

**Received 20:25**

Alfred grinned a little. As much as he made fun of his cat, he could never pass up an opportunity to talk about his self-proclaimed ‘daughter’. He pulled up his camera app, aiming it at Burger, who was still scarfing down her food. 

“Burger!” He clicked his tongue to call the cat’s attention. She mewled, lifting her head to face Alfred, and he snapped a quick photo to send to Ivan. 

**To Ivan♡:**

Shes good as always. Never goes outside anyways, so winters not really a problem for her

Attached: 1 Image

**Sent 20:26**

**From Ivan♡:**

How cute! ^J^

**Received 20:26**

**To Ivan♡:**

Yesterday she got stuck under my blankets trying to catch some fluff or smthing lol

**Sent 20:26**

**To Ivan♡:**

U shouldve seen it, it was adorable !! 

**Sent 20:26**

**From Ivan♡:**

Aww! She seems far more playful than Kartoshka, no?

**Received 20:27**

**From Ivan♡:**

Kartoshka would rather kill mice than play with me :<

**Received 20:27**

Alfred laughed. When he had visited Ivan in Russia, he had been surprised by how cold the cat was. It had taken her almost the entire stay to warm up to Alfred, and refused to chase feathers like Burger. Kartoshka was a beautiful cat, but far less friendly and playful than Burger, who would gladly give chase and try to eat anything put in front of her. After a few more minutes of relaxed conversation, Ivan said he had to go to tend to the farm and do morning chores around the house. Alfed send a quick goodbye text, and began to make his own dinner, while Burger finished inhaling her food. 

It had been rather late when he started to cook, so he decided to just eat some leftover soup from last night. As he sat down to eat, Burger jumped up onto the chair next to him to beg for food. Alfred laughed and ruffled her fluffy golden fur. 

“What, do you think you’re going to get some of my soup?” He patted the cat’s back. “Silly, I can’t just break off a piece of soup for you, it’s liquid,” Burger only meowed and pawed at his hand, her begging unhindered by the fact Alfred clearly was not going to give her any food. After he finished eating, Alfred began to get ready to go to bed. He wanted to wake up earlier tomorrow in order to put any equipment left outside back in the shed, so none of it would suffer damage from the snow. 

As he curled beneath his bedsheets for warmth, he pulled out his phone to talk with Ivan for a bit before he had to go to sleep. They talked for a while about trivial things, like the cats, and different things happening in their respective home villages. Finally, Alfred yawned, and typed out a goodnight message. He plugged his phone in to charge overnight, and rolled over to get some sleep. Sensing it was time to sleep, Burger hopped onto the bed and curled up next to his pillow, snuggling against Alfred’s head as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

It was a few days later when over text Alfred brought up the idea of Ivan coming to visit during the holidays. He had been wanting to spend the holidays with Ivan for a while, as it had just been him and Burger the past few christmases. Plus, it wasn’t like there was much farming to be done during the harsh Russian winters. When Ivan sent him back a text agreeing to fly to America for the holidays, Alfred let out a hiss of victory and a little leap of joy. He grinned and turned to face the fat, tan cat relaxing on the arm of the sofa. 

“You hear that, Burger? We get to spend Christmas with Ivan!” Alfred grinned and ruffled the cat’s fur, ecstatic at the fact he would be able to spend one of his favorite times of the year with his boyfriend. 

In just a few days, Ivan would fly out from Moscow to spend the holidays with Alfred, who was more excited about this than anything else. It would be Ivan’s third time in America, and his first time staying with Alfred. As Alfred swept his broom across the kitchen floor, he hummed happy christmas carols. Burger watched him clean from atop the kitchen counter, rolling in the warm light that shone in from the window. When Alfred passed by the scruffy tan cat, he gave her head a gentle pat. 

“Are you excited buddy? Ivan is going to be here on Tuesday! We have to make sure the house looks nice and clean, yeah?” Alfred smiled and went back to sweeping the kitchen floor. 

“He’s even going to bring Kartoshka with him, so you’ll have another cat to play with! You have to be nice to her though, if you want to be her friend,” He said, looking back to his cat. Burger only meowed and rolled over in the sunlight again. 

Alfred was rather nervous about having Ivan over for the holidays. He didn’t want the house to be messy as it usually was, and he didn’t know if Ivan would like the climate, and then he also had to make sure Burger wouldn’t be too overbearing when Kartoshka arrived. His grip on the broom handle tightened and he swept a bit more harshly, pushing the dust into a pile. He loved Ivan and enjoyed their relationship. He loved every photo of the farms and cats, every goofy text conversation, every late night skype call. Alfred didn’t want to accidentally mess up the relationship like he had in the past. 

Suddenly, he stopped and silently chastised himself. It wasn’t good to have negative thoughts like this. Ivan wouldn’t end the relationship because Alfred was a bit of a slob. He already knew Alfred was a messy person, everything would be fine. He sighed and swept the dust into a pan, before walking it to the trash. He set the broom back, and began to scrub at the kitchen counters. He still had a lot to clean before Ivan arrived.

* * *

“Well, here she is!” Alfred shut the door behind them, and held his arm out to present the house to Ivan. He had just picked Ivan up from the Des Moines airport, and driven him back to the house. It was only four in the morning, and the sky was still dark. Ivan gently set the cat crate he was carrying on the ground. 

“It is very clean in here. Very unlike you, da?” He looked up to Alfred with a small, joking, smile. 

Alfred pouted and crossed his arms.  “What do you mean ‘unlike me’? I can be neat if I want!” 

Ivan giggled softly.  “Sure you can,” He looked to Alfred, his violet eyes soft and friendly. Suddenly, a loud mewl rang through the room, as Burger came sauntering in from the kitchen doorway. She purred loudly and pawed at Alfred’s legs, flicking her tail back and forth. 

“This is Burger?” Ivan asked, the cat’s name rolling off his tongue, thickly accented. It was then Kartoshka began to meow within her crate, drawing the attention of Burger. 

“Yeah,” Alfred said. 

“Do you wanna let Kartoshka out and see how they react to each other?” Ivan nodded, and knelt down to open the cat crate. Alfred bit his lip nervously, afraid they would start fighting. 

When the crate door was open, Kartoshka strolled out, sniffing at a very confused Burger. Burger initially took a step back and hissed, before creeping closer, and finally, tentatively licking the other cat’s muzzle. When the big grey cat recoiled in confusion, Burger took another step forward and continued to lick at Kartoshka, until the other cat relaxed, dropped to the ground, and rolled onto Burger to get her to stop licking. Burger mewled from underneath the heavy mass of deep grey fur, and slipped out from under Kartoshka’s weight. She hopped up onto the counter and meowed down, as if inviting the other cat to join her. Kartoshka got up and shook her fur, before leaping up to join the heavy set cat on the kitchen counter. Alfred let out a small sigh of relief and turned to Ivan.

“That’s good. They’re getting along!” Ivan smiled. “I am surprised Kartoshka is so friendly. She doesn’t like loud things, and Burger is very loud.,” 

Alfred hummed in agreement, watching as the two cats settled themselves next to each other on the counter.

“Well, it’s just about time to make breakfast, huh?” He turned to face Ivan. “Bacon and eggs sound good to you?” 

Ivan nodded. “Do you need any help?” 

“Nah man, I got this,” Alfred began to rummage through the cabinets for a pan. “Thanks for offering though,” 

He smiled up at Ivan, who took his seat at the counter. 

Soon, the scent of bacon grease and eggs filled the kitchen. Alfred laughed and chatted with Ivan as he cooked, the house filled with a sense of fullness and homeliness. Burger had shown Kartoshka her favorite spot to sit, directly in the warm light of the window, and the cats were now curled up together in the gentle sunlight beginning to filter through the window. When the food was done cooking, Alfred got them both a plate, and sat down to eat with Ivan. 

As they tossed light banter back and forth, he couldn’t help but notice just how pretty Ivan was in real life. His eyes had a certain glimmer to them that video chat and photos didn’t do justice. When Ivan genuinely smiled, his whole face lit up in the most beautiful way. Alfred sighed and smiled, taking in the atmosphere of the room. Ivan made it feel full, and warm. Right now, there was no other place he’d rather be. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and Kudos are much appreciated! :>


End file.
